


Public Relations

by TigStripe



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Diary/Journal, Diggle Wears the Hood, Implied Romance, Keeping Oliver's Secret, M/M, Oliver Tricks the Public, Sibling Pranks Gone Wrong, Silly Premise but Serious Fic, Thea & Oliver, Thea's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 03:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigStripe/pseuds/TigStripe
Summary: Oliver comes up with a seemingly innocent way to get the public off his tail as a suspect to be pinned as the Green Arrow, and Thea accidentally blows it out of proportion.ORThe one where Oliver falls in love with the Green Arrow - forreasons





	Public Relations

**April 18th, 20XX**

Two weeks ago, Ollie made the hair-brained decision to throw the media and police off his trail of being the Green Arrow by buying up a whole bunch of GA merchandise (which I didn’t even know existed, btw). Turns out there’s a Speedy figure, too. Threw me for a loop.

Anyhow.

His plan is to make people think he’s got some kind of obsession with the GA in order to throw them off the scent. Can’t be the Green Arrow if he’s a fanboy, right?

At first, I thought it was a stupid idea, but after I thought about it for a while, it has some merit to it. And it seems to be working - public interest in the GA has plummeted, and interest in the Mayor of Star City has skyrocketed. Ollie’s been able to patrol without even having to worry about the cops.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this might be one of Ollie’s best ideas ever. We’ll see how it plays out.

 

**May 1, 20XX**

The charade is still going strong, and the public is starting to take notice. I decided to help out by posting some Instagram pics of Ollie and William playing superheroes with action figures. Captioned it “William wanted to be the Green Arrow, but Oliver wouldn’t let him.” I posted it about a week ago, and it’s already been used in a tabloid article in  _ The Burning Star City _ , talking about how Mayor Queen seems to be obsessing pretty hard over the GA. I laughed when I read it - some people are starting to think Ollie has a  _ crush _ on the GA.

This gives me an idea.

 

**May 6, 20XX**

Ollie’s pissed at me, and I’m loving it. I  _ might  _ have mentioned at a press conference this week that my brother talked an awful lot about the Green Arrow, and has been hanging up GA stuff all over his apartment. One of the reporters asked if I’d read the tabloid article about Ollie’s crush, and if I agreed with that observation.

I said I did.

Since then, Ollie’s been getting media calls up and down about his “involvement” with the Green Arrow. They’re not accusing him of  _ being _ the GA, but being  _ with _ the GA. John and I have had a pretty good laugh about it, but Ollie’s not amused. He’s keep a smile for the media, though, and - pretty much according to plan - it seems to be throwing them even further off his trail.

We’ll just see how long it lasts.

 

**May 15, 20XX**

I might have messed it up good this time. With all the media attention Oliver’s been getting, he decided to go ahead and take the plunge: he told someone he  _ does _ have a crush on the Green Arrow, which immediately made its way to the main media.

The headlines the next morning, man. It was nuts.

“Mayor Queen Has the Hots for Green Arrow”

“Vigilante Shoots Cupid’s Arrow through Mayor Queen’s Heart”

“Mayor Queen Admits to a Roll in the Hay with the Green Arrow”

That last one had me falling out of my chair. Today, he’s supposed to have a press conference to respond to the allegations. After all, the  _ Mayor _ can’t be involved with someone wanted by the police. As part of his personal counsel, I told him to deny, obviously. Everyone else agrees.

Don’t muck it up, Ollie.

 

**May 16, 20XX**

Welp, that didn’t go well. Ollie denied having any physical history with the Green Arrow, but implied he wouldn’t mind having some.

This is starting to get serious. People are legitimately talking now, not just gossiping. It’s starting to show on the political blogs and social media sites that people are wondering if it’s okay for the Mayor to have such an infatuation with a wanted criminal.

Then again, there’s also a lot of people supporting it, saying it’s one of those “star crossed lovers” situations: The Mayor, who can’t break the law or lose everything, and the Vigilante, who has locked himself out of society with his actions, never shall they meet. That kind of stuff.

I guess we’ll see what happens next.

 

**June 1, 20XX**

Okay, I’m having too much fun with this.

After Ollie said he’d be okay with a roll in the hay with the Green Arrow, people responded way better than I thought they would. People approached him about joining GA fan clubs and trying to catch him in the act. They don’t want to stop him, they want to support him.

So, to help out, I offered the media a chance to have a “Green Arrow Watch Party,” hosted by Ollie (not the Mayor - even I’m not cruel enough to involve public money in this). He went along with it, and we had John dress the part to make a showing. Basically, we set up some folding chairs atop City Hall late one night, and had John make an appearance by wire-swinging along the street.

The cheers were  _ wild _ . I could barely believe so many people were cheering on the Green Arrow, out in the middle of the night, unafraid. People are starting to turn their opinion of the GA because he’s so “important” to the Mayor. This might be the best possible thing that could happen to our night jobs.

 

**June 10, 20XX**

Just a little update.

There was a public charity event today, and I pulled a fast one on Ollie. Right as he was about to cut the ribbon on the charity’s office building, I pointed across to the roof of a nearby building and yelled, “It’s the Green Arrow!”

Ollie didn’t miss a beat. He practically dropped the shears and started looking frantically at the roofline. “Where? Where is he?”

He scowled at me for a couple of hours after the event ended.

Worth it.

 

**June 27, 20XX**

So the ship is GreenQueen, Olivarrow, or Groliver, according to the Internet and depending on who you ask. We’ve been having fun with it this month. I answered some questions during an interview on the morning show last week about my brother’s love for the GA, and it was received pretty well.

They asked if I had any superhero crushes. I said no, because who wants that kind of stress, not knowing if someone you love is going to be coming home safe that night.

To be honest, it got kind of real for me.

Anyway, Ollie pushed it a little further this week. He left a recording with the SCPD as the Green Arrow, stating Oliver Queen was  _ stalking _ him, and warned that he would have to take drastic measures if the Mayor didn’t stop. The media ate that up, and I’ve been fending off calls about it all week. The question came up if Ollie knew who was under the mask, but he just did that stupid grin of his and said how he  _ wanted to, if you know what he means _ .

I’d laugh if rolling my eyes that hard didn’t hurt so much.

Oh, and the ship has a following online. A decently sized one, too. The fanfiction is spreading. I haven’t read any, but according to Felicity, people really seem to think the GA is into leather bondage. He also tops Ollie almost exclusively. I laughed when I heard that.

Ollie asked why that seemed to be the trend, and I just shrugged.

The non-sexual ones are evidently the  _ best _ , though. Curtis says they’re super cute and cuddly, nothing at all like Ollie.

Oh, and Curtis also calls it his OTP, even if it is fake. Not  _ entirely _ sure what that means.

This is getting out of hand, but I just can’t look away.

 

**July 5, 20XX**

There was a fireworks display for the 4th of July last night over the bay, and one of the special fireworks was a green bow and arrow. It was incredible. I was with the others when it happened, and Ollie actually teared up. The people of Star City love the Green Arrow now, because their Mayor does. This morning, I checked approval ratings and public interest polls, and Ollie’s up in ratings and the GA is about even with the Mayor in interest.

All of this is great, but Ollie’s starting to get bogged down by the public. He can’t go out as the GA as much. John, René, and Curtis have been pulling extra patrols while Dinah and I handle the public. It’s starting to get rough on all of us, but Oliver says he has a plan.

 

**July 7, 20XX**

The Green Arrow has officially attacked the Mayor, claiming self defense.

Ollie recorded the GA accusing Ollie of continued stalking, stabbed himself in the shoulder with one of his own arrows, then threw himself at the hospital. I’m glad John was there, because I wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face long enough to be convincingly concerned.

The best part about it, though?

While he was on painkillers, Ollie kept talking about how awesome it was that the GA had shot him. Like, who even says that?

“It’s fine. I’m fine! And look, I get to keep the arrow, right? Isn’t that cool?”

I’m a little worried this is going to make people dislike the GA again, attacking a public official like that. But Ollie has kind of made himself into a bit of a creep over this, so maybe the public will side with the GA on this? And also, we did our jobs just fine when the city hated him, so maybe it doesn’t matter?

Ugh. My head hurts. Wake me when this fever dream is over.

 

**July 12, 20XX**

There was a little backlash over the attack on the Mayor, and Ollie has visibly pulled back on the whole “crush” thing, but we’re still in good shape with the general public. Turns out making entire events around the Green Arrow was a bit too far to a lot of people, and they were okay with seeing Ollie take it down a notch. “Arrow Day” got canceled. Can’t say I’m mad about that one. Where’s the offer for a “Speedy Day,” anyway?

The thing that’s maintained its momentum is the Internet presence. People have cemented “Olivarrow” as the official ship name, and it’s going strong. Curtis suggested we read one specifically, and we were all impressed at how well it was written, mischaracterizing aside. Can’t get everything perfect when one of the characters is shrouded in mystery, after all.

Something else popped up on the radar, though: other heroes were starting to get written into the stories. Spartan’s got a nice following, and the Black Canary is easily the #2 for Star City writers, but the Flash and Killer Frost have been on the rise, too. Barry actually ran over here a couple of days ago just to yell at Ollie about how public he’s made everything (which is a laugh, coming from the giant red streak of lightning running around in broad daylight, but I digress).

Overall, it’s hilarious to watch, and it still feels like a positive impact on the views of vigilantism in both cities, so I call that a win.

 

**July 31, 20XX**

Ollie plans on ending the shenanigans tomorrow. He’s backed off enough that people don’t talk about it anymore. It was just a fad that caught the public’s attention, and it’s run its course, he says. But it kept him out of the crosshairs for quite a while, and we were able to do quite a bit of work while the police were looking the other way. Hopefully, things stay friendly from here on, since no one’s died all year and the public has such a positive outlook on the Green Arrow and his friends nowadays.

It’s weird to be so hopeful about our public image. We’re not Team Flash - we stalk around at night and can sometimes come really close to going too far with taking people out. But being able to watch Star City celebrate the Green Arrow has been a real fun experience, and I kind of don’t want it to end.

It’s ultimately Ollie’s call, so I’m not in a position to argue, but if it were up to me, I’d keep the mystery of the possibility there for the public to salivate over, just for a while longer.

Oh well.

 

**August 1, 20XX**

I just got home from the press conference, and I can’t stop smiling.

When Ollie got up in front of the cameras, he was smiling, but it looked sad. I think the idea of the city falling out of love with the GA was getting to him. But he stood up straight and told it how it was - that he was no longer “chasing” the Green Arrow, and that he hoped the public service members of Star City can work together in tandem with the vigilantes in the future. It wasn’t particularly moving or powerful, but it was honest, and what happened next really tripped me up:

The non-reporters in the crowd, some holding signs supporting the GA, started changing “Arrow” over and over. It got louder and louder, and the reporters in the room joined in. Even the City Hall workers joined in. I got swept up in it, myself.

I remember the look on Oliver’s face, and my heart still aches a little. If anyone had any lingering suspicions that he was the Green Arrow before, they would have had their answer. He teared up and there was the  _ tiniest _ bit of a chin quiver, but he managed to control it long enough to get off-stage. He didn’t expect such a rally of support for him, and it had completely thrown him off balance. I found him in his office trying to compose himself.

I’ll never forget what he told me after that, with tears running down his face: “I have to protect these people, no matter what.”

For as long as I can remember, it’s always been about “saving the city” or “stopping the villain,” but I’ve never seen Oliver talk so desperately about protecting people. This whole charade really opened up the lines of communication in Star City. It wasn’t intentional, but it happened.

I gave Ollie a hug and promised him that we would do our best, both in the light and in the shadows. When he hugged me back, I knew this was hitting him harder than either of us expected. We sat like that for a while, until he pulled himself together enough to head to another appointed meeting. I headed home after that.

Everything started as a joke. A prank. No one expected it to go the way it did, but I’m glad I was a part of it. Star City is the Green Arrow’s, and the Green Arrow is Star City’s. If there had ever been a question of that before, it was gone now.

This’ll probably be the last time I write about all this stuff, at least until someone decides to do something else ridiculous.

Maybe I can convince the public that my brother has a crush on the Flash now, instead...

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a conversation with my fellow fans on the Flarrowverse Shipyard Discord server.


End file.
